The Devizes Guardians

Please see the WC CONSULTATIONS Page for details

Devizes Guardians candidate, Sarah Bridewell, scored a victory in this Devizes Town Council election, taking the seat from the Conservatives by 226 votes to 219 and increasing the number of Guardians town councillors to four. The overall turn-out for the election was about 26%, but that was to be expected for a by-election in the middle of the holiday period.

This was an excellent result for Sarah and the Guardians especially as the Conservatives had thrown all their resources at retaining this seat, including wheeling their parliamentary candidate out to canvass. It is big disappointment for the Conservatives at town, county and national levels; they had been hoping to show that last year’s Wiltshire Council win for the Guardians could not be sustained and that it was a short-term phenomenon.

We thank our loyal supporters who turned out to vote and show their continued support for the Devizes Guardians. Please see the MEET THE GUARDIANS page for more information about Sarah Bridewell.

The decision to withdraw proposals for a new Primary Care Centre (PCC) on Quaker’s Walk has been largely met with approval by the community in Devizes. However, the justification says little for the Primary Care Trust’s management and planning, if the proposal was allowed to get as far as it did without financial agreements in place!

To overcome the continuing uncertainty surrounding the establishment of a new PCC, Devizes Guardians recommend the appointment of a Project Manager to oversee plans and financial arrangements for future proposals, such that they are handled in an orderly, timely and uncontroversial manner. The Guardians believe that the Project Manager should be immediately tasked with re-confirming the facilities to be provided within the PCC and that one of the options that they should be asked to consider is the provision of these facilities in regenerated premises at the existing hospital site. Was the site to be considered suitable for the diagnostic suites and other services proposed, it would have the supreme advantage of being conveniently available to the community in and around Devizes and suffer none of the perceived disadvantages of the Quaker’s Walk site over access. It would also remain a convenient location for the occupants of the retirement home proposed by St Monica’s.  This would also leave current GP facilities closer to the communities they currently serve.